


A Name For Number X

by Ingonyama



Series: The Crossroads [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance, crack theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 08:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/772271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ingonyama/pseuds/Ingonyama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who was Luxord before he was Luxord?</p>
<p>Why is Cid Highwind such a different person than he was in his own world?</p>
<p>What if Roxas wasn't the only Nobody whose Somebody survived?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Name For Number X

**Author's Note:**

> Way back in the height of my love for Kingdom Hearts, I stumbled across a theory that I really cottoned on to.
> 
> This story is my way of exploring that theory. Enjoy!
> 
> Partly inspired by the song "Crossroads", found here: http://ff7.ocremix.org/tracks/

**Traverse Town**  
  
Number X stood in shadow, his hood up as he looked through the window. The blonde man inside was typing madly away, a stalk of grass clenched between his teeth as his eyes screwed up resolutely. Number X smirked to himself as he lifted his half-smoked cigarette to his lips. Apparently, that was one trait they no longer shared.  
  
"His brush with death has made him overly cautious," came the voice behind him, and Number X turned. The swirling wind slowed to a stop as Xaldin walked up beside his fellow Nobody, spears drifting lazily in his wake like hungry piranha in the wake of a remorseless shark. "He no longer smokes...no longer fights actively, as his friends do, or uses magic...he merely hides in the garage with those ridiculous vessels, or plays with that infernal device."  
  
"It's not so much that he doesn't, though, is it?" Number X's voice sounded strange to him. Used to a slow, Rocket Town drawl to his words, the stiff, upper-crust tone he was taking fazed him more than a little. "After all, I use magic as well as ever he could. And I'm not afraid to fight, when the occasion calls for it."  
  
Xaldin's smile was as cold as a winter morning. "Now you understand. He may have everything you don't...his heart, a purpose in life, friends he cares about...but, conversely, you have the skills and abilities that he no longer even remembers possessing. If you ask me, I think you got the better deal."  
  
Number X snorted derisively, returning his gaze to the window. A man in red and black was standing behind the blond man, a golden-clawed hand on his shoulder. Leaning down, his lustrous black hair spilling over the other man's shoulder in waves, he kissed him gently, and took him by the hand, leading him with a mysterious smile into the dark of the next room, out of Number X's sight.  
  
"No," he found himself whispering softly. "No, I didn't."  
  
"Then...why not change it? Join us, Number X. Be one of the Organization, and fight for the life you deserve." Xaldin offered his gloved hand to Number X, who looked at it for a long time.  
  
"...Fine." He clasped the taller man's hand firmly, his eyes completely devoid of emotion. "But I'm done being referred to as 'Number X.' Call me...Luxord."  
  
"Luxord?" The dreadlocked Nobody cocked his head curiously. "What made you choose that name?" Cid Highwind's Nobody smiled enigmatically. "Wouldn't you like to know."  
  
The two men-who-were-not-men disappeared together into a corridor of darkness, shadows engulfing them as completely as if they had never been.


End file.
